By KATRINA BRANDON
EMPLOYEES of the Nippon Paper’s Opal Maryvale Mill continue to be locked out after two weeks as of Thursday, January 30.
Opal has been engaged in Enterprise Agreement discussions with more than 300 Maryvale Mill production team members and the CFMEU. The previous agreement expired in December 2024.
On January 16, seven operators halted work for six hours, forcing the company to close the doors for other production team workers with an hour’s notice.
Last Wednesday (January 29), the CFMEU and Australian Council of Trades Unions (ACTU) met with workers at the Morwell Football-Netball Club rooms to discuss further actions towards Opal’s locked-in decision to dock pay and to worsen working conditions.
“There are 300 workers, and some of their kids and families have come to a big meeting today to discuss the progress of this lockout,” the ACTU Secretary, Sally McManus said.
“It is really unusual for there to be lockouts in Australia. When it happens, it is devastating for the community, for all of the workers, for all of the families, and local businesses. Coming out of it is that they are absolutely determined. They are determined not to let the company bully them because this is what it is – the absolute abuse of power deciding to lock out workers.”
According to Ms McManus, the lockout is unusual. In most developed countries, workers are typically the ones on strike, not the business. Upon meeting the workers, she said she found they are determined to stick to their original terms and are devastated that they are being kept out of work.
She told the Express, “I don’t know why Nippon Paper thinks taking on a small community like this is a good idea. They are very strong. I can see that. However, the Australian union members have gotten their back as well. It’s not just 300 workers they are taking on. It is all of us.
“I think in the end that the company has got to sit down and negotiate and do so in a respectful way. This is about the workers showing that they are not going away and are there. It is also about the importance of people sticking together and supporting each other during this time.”
Ms McManus described the lockout as a chance for the company to bully employees and that lockout laws must be looked at to prevent companies from “abusing” their power.
She said that if the action wasn’t over in the next couple of weeks, the ACTU would put the issue on its agenda for further support at its meeting in a few weeks.
In concluding the meeting, Denise Campbell-Burns, the Pulp and Paper Workers District Secretary, told the Express that members were determined and that Opal had not communicated further with her.
“Our members are resolute. They want a fair deal from Opal and are not prepared to take a pay cut to get any kind of deal. At the moment, we remain locked out,” she said.
“Nippon Paper and Opal need to come to the table with a deal that means that workers won’t be worse off across the course of the agreement.
“We know that the ACTU and the whole trade union movement have the back of these Opal workers. They will not allow them to be stood over to accept conditions and terms that are less than what they have now.
“People are angry at the company, but they are united and supporting each other. They are going to stick together.”
Keeping to rostered hours, the workers are camped out by the Maryvale oval until the ordeal ends. Ms Campbell-Burns said that during this time, they were excluded from their company but more than included in the local community, with businesses dropping off food, giving discounts, and providing workers with all the support they could.
The Express reached out to Opal for further comments, which Opal reflected back to their original statement from January 16.
The statement reads; “We continue to negotiate in good faith with the CFMEU and our Production team members.”
“We are focused on reaching an Enterprise Agreement with our team members and the union that is fair and allows us to supply our customers with quality paper in an extremely competitive and evolving market.
“Unfortunately, given the protected industrial action taken and upcoming notified action by the CFMEU, which includes planned rolling shutdowns of the Mill’s infrastructure, we cannot operate our paper production facilities.”
